nikkei 225

The FTSE edged slightly higher this morning, buoyed by upbeat earnings announcements from AstraZeneca and BAE Systems.

Banks are once again leading the FTSE 100 gains in early trading, after a number of stocks soared upwards of 10% yesterday on the relaxing of Basel III rules.

UPDATE 12pm: The FTSE 100 index has climbed almost 1.6% in morning trading after strong late gains overnight on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares has dropped more than half a percentage point this afternoon following a shaky start in trading.

Miners and banks are driving the FTSE upwards this morning, as London's leading shares continue to rebound on the back of Wall Street's stellar showing yesterday.

The FTSE hit a new intra-day low for 2010 in early trading on Thursday following murmurs ratings agency Moody's may downgrade the triple-A sovereign ratings on Spain.

A fall in mining shares on the back of drops in metal prices led the FTSE down 0.8% to 5,202.85 points in early trading.

The FTSE 100 opened higher as investors responded positively to news BP has scrapped its dividend until 2011 and agreed to fund a $20bn oil spill compensation package.

The FTSE started the day positively buoyed by a strong start for bank stocks and increased hopes of a global recovery.

The FTSE 100 lost 40 point in early trading on Thursday as BP shares continued to drop.